John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn – better known asJohn Legend andCommon – have won the Best Song Oscar for the rousing “Glory” from “Selma.
“Glory” won over “Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”; “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”; “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me”; and “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again.”
The song was the only nomination for “Selma” besides Best Picture as the Academy snubbed lead actor David Oyelowo and director Ava DuVernay. “Glory” played during the end credits of the film.
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The song was written by Legend, Common, and Che “Rhymefest” Smith and produced by Legend as the theme song to “Selma,” which portrays the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery. Common also stars as civil rights leader James Bevel.
The duo performed the song a few minutes before Idina Menzel and John Travolta — who famously mangled Menzel’s name at the ceremonies last year as “Adele Dazeem” — unveiled the “Glory” as the Oscar-winning song.
In his acceptance, Common referred to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma — the site of the 1965 attack by law enforcement on civil rights marchers — as “a symbol for change.” He added that the structure now “transcends race, religion, sexual orientation and social status.”
“‘Selma’ is now because the struggle for justice is right now,” Legend said.
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